New Beginnings!

It's been an interesting past couple of days...

First things first, I'm officially a Baha'i! I think I even surprised myself with this decision. While I have been a "seeker" for months, I'm not sure if I ever thought I would be able expand my old beliefs, start a new walk with God and become a Baha'i. My hesitance had very little to do with the Faith and everything to do with how it would impact my family. I made my declaration on Sunday (ironically Sunday was also the Declaration of the Bab), but I couldn't be completely excited about it because I was so worried about what my mother would think. I composed a very sincere email about my decision and her response totally blew me away!! My mother was tremendously supportive, understanding and open. Her email ended with:

I don't know anything about the Baha'i Faith, but I know you and you've always shown very good judgment and you've always been very introspective in all decisions you've made... Good Luck with your new found path as you pursue fulfillment in the realm o f God's word. I love you.

She even offered to attend Baha'i services in Atlanta to gain a better understanding of the Faith. Once she was satisfied that I wouldn't be able to hurt myself, hurt others or stray too far away from the 1o commandments, she was OK with my decision. I don't think I had ever been more proud to be my mother's daughter than I was at the moment.

With the declaration and family acceptance done, now the real work starts. I get the feeling that being a Baha'i means lots and lots of work, which is awesome! I'm taking Core Curriculum Training, Study Circle and trying to learn everything as quickly as possible. Sometimes I have to remind myself that it took me 23 years to learn all that I know about Christianity, so I need to set reasonable goals and pace myself. I'm just so inspired and uplifted by everything I learn, it makes me thirst for more.

On a not so great front, work was a disaster today. I finally reached my breaking point with my client, after he questioned the back-to-back deaths of my grandmothers. I packed up my office and walked off the client site. At that point, I was 100% sure I wasn't going to have a job. However, I received a call later that evening from my admin manager who apologized for the abusive work conditions with this particular client and offered me a clean break, even though the client requested that I finish up the week. I'll be starting a new project on Monday, so I'm anxiously anticipating which one it will be.

Either way, I'm so thankful for new beginnings both big and small.